Summary
In the first quarter of 2006, the unemployment rate estimate was 7.7%, which corresponds to an increase of 0.2 percentage point (p.p.) from the same period of the previous year and to a decline of 0.3 p.p. from the fourth quarter of 2005. The unemployed stand at 429.7 thousand individuals, accounting for an increase of 4.1% from the same quarter of the previous year and a decrease of 3.9% from the previous quarter. The number of employed persons rose by 0.6%, when compared with the same quarter of 2005, and declined by 0.1% from the previous quarter.